


Furever Home

by ANebulaDarkly



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: #20Bugteen, Adulting, Aged-Up Character(s), Cat Puns, Chat Noir Being Chat Noir, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Happy Ending, Just a pinch of angst, Marichat, Secrets, Sorry Sabine, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, apartment hunting is the worst, arguing over money, fourth in fandom, how do I title, puns apparently, sabine has like one line, sappy adrien returns, sneaky chat noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 06:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18911005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ANebulaDarkly/pseuds/ANebulaDarkly
Summary: Marinette is on the hunt for the perfect place to live but doesn't anticipate a certain cat on the prowl.





	Furever Home

**Author's Note:**

> while i didn't write this specifically for the #marichatmay challenge since it was already part of my own list for #20Bugteen, I did pick this out of my lineup to post IN May because it was marichat. enjoy!

Marinette had no idea how he had found out.

Her parents had suspected, of course. Alya had been sworn to secrecy on the matter. Nino and Adrien as well once she realized they had both been within earshot of their conversation.

She had set 15 different alarms, laid out smart business casual clothes the night before, put her hair in a bun just to make herself look a little older and professional, and yet, here she stood in front of a fairly unremarkable building at 8 in the morning in a completely different arrondissement waving to the apartment manager as he approached when Chat Noir dropped down beside her. The manager and she both shared a look, both obviously not prepared for the superhero’s appearance. Chat completely ignored the manager and bowed to her.  

“Bonjour, Mademoiselle.”

She stared.

Chat _never_ approached her in public unless there was an akuma.

Chat _never_ talked to in front of others, her parents being the only exception.

And he most certainly _never_ called her ‘Mademoiselle’.

She blinked and started with what she knew. Chat was only pretending not to know her for the sake of the witness they had before them. She could at least wish him a good morning, but the manager beat her to it.

“Bonjour, Chat Noir. Is there anything we can do for one of the Heroes of Paris?”

“I was just dropping in to say hello to someone I once helped before,” Chat replied with a nod at Marinette. “What are you both up to today?”

“Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng is here to see an apartment I have opening up in a few months,” the manager quickly replied.

Chat didn’t even hesitate.

“Oh? Are you ready live on your own now? Congratulations, Mademoiselle,” Chat told her with yet another bow. “Mind if I accompany you? I’m curious to see what the apartments here look like.”

The manager clapped him on the back and laughed.

“Of course you can, my boy. Follow me!”

The man turned to lead them in. Marinette had not gotten in a single word. How had he found out? This was all wrong. _He_ wasn’t supposed to know about this. As they went up the stairs, she grabbed Chat by the elbow and let the manager get a small lead as he gushed about the structure before turning to hiss at Chat.

“What are you doing?”

“Tagging along. I thought it would be fun,” he whispered back.

“We’re not supposed to know each other.”

“He doesn’t know that.”

“Someone will catch on, Chat. Look, just---”

But they had caught up to the manager as he waited for them in front of the door of the apartment he intended to show her.

“After you,” he said as he swept the door open for them.

She glared at Chat who only smiled as he also gestured to allow her to go first. Tentatively, Marinette poked her head inside the apartment. It wasn’t the worst she had ever seen, but it was the only one in this arrondissement within her budget, so she didn’t expect much. The small kitchen was to the left, a bar dividing it from the entry, which led to the tiny living space. There were three doors along the wall to the right. The first was a tiny bedroom with no windows but a fairly large closet. The second in the middle led to a bathroom that could not have been more than 3 feet wide, even though it was deep as the previous room. The last room had one tiny window and no closet. She roamed the living room once more, looking at the two windows there. She tried to open one. It did not budge.

“Sorry, Mademoiselle. It is something that can be fixed before you move in,” the manager apologized.

She sighed and looked out the window. The street below was busy to the say the least and there were at least 20 more windows directly facing her own. This wouldn’t do.

“Are the windows that important?” the manager asked.

“I was hoping for more light,” she sighed.

“Oh, that’s right, you’re a designer,” Chat said as if he had just remembered. “That’s why you’d need a second room with good windows. For lighting?”

She swallowed and remembered the line she had come up with long before she even began looking for apartments online.

“Yes, Chat Noir. I was hoping to use the second room as studio for work.”

She caught the eye of the manager and realized she didn’t want to be rude.

“Maybe I could make it work with some mirrors?” she suggested as she rubbed the back of her neck.  

She slowly slunk over to the kitchen to poke around and took a few pictures with her phone, to feign interest for another five minutes until she felt less terrible about ending the viewing. Soon enough, she and Chat stood on the street and bid the manager adieu. She waited until the door was shut behind the manager before dragging Chat into the nearby alley.

“What the hell, Chat?”

“I saw you, and I got curious. Why didn’t you tell me you were going apartment hunting? I would have helped you look up ones online.”

She didn’t immediately have a good answer, at least, not one she was ready to give him. Besides Alya, he was the one she told everything to. She was sure he was probably hurt she didn’t trust him with this, and despite her ability to over plan, she had not come up with a contingency plan for if he found out.

“I...it’s just...it was something I wanted to do on my own?” she started.

His face swayed further from hurt toward curious. She pointed to her bun and her clothes.

“I put on my adult clothes so I could do an adult thing. Like looking at apartments. Like an adult. If I was going to go live on my own, I figured I could try and start searching on my own. To prove I could do something right on my own.”

His tail swished lazily behind him as he carefully dissected Mari-speak.

“So you just wanted to be a little more adult?”

She deflated a little at his words.

“I suppose that’s what it was,” she agreed, though she knew that wasn’t why she hadn’t told him.

“I suppose I can understand that. I didn’t mean to butt in. I can leave if you want me to.”

He took one step back, and instantly her hand was on his arm.

“Don’t go,” she nearly whimpered.

She couldn’t look him in the eye, but she couldn’t let him leave thinking she was mad at him or thinking she had hurt him. Besides, maybe it would be better to have him along and have his input too. She steadied her voice and spoke once more.

“I have four more viewings later today.”

She pulled out a sketchbook from her purse and, after checking the addresses and times in her phone, she copied them down, torn out the sheet, and handed it to him.

“Four more?”

“It’s my only day off for a while, so I booked them all today.”

He didn’t need to know that she’d picked up extra bakery shifts and commissions for the next few weeks to try to bulk up some savings for her deposit and first few months of rent. He considered the sheet in his paws before looking back at the building they just left. He reached out and took the pencil from her hand and struck a pose.

“So as your new agent, what would you say about the one we just viewed?”

And just like that, it was easy between them again.

“Honestly, it was awful. It was so cramped and not in the good way. You know my room at home is cramped, but in a cozy way.”

Chat made a spectacle of taking notes, as though this were some apartment search television show. She found herself happy to play along. He tapped the pencil against his mouth.

“Yes, yes. I recall you mentioned the lighting was atrocious.”

She threw her hands up in the air.

“Right!? Those north facing windows. How was I supposed to get any work done? How would I keep my plants alive unless they’re south facing?”

“Lighting is key. Excellent. Any other points to rule out?”

“Obviously, both rooms need windows.”

He paused in his note taking, and suddenly his over the top dramatics died.

“Why are you getting two rooms, anyway? I thought that would be a little out of your budget for just starting out?”

“That’s why that place was so tiny. It was the only one I could afford in this arrondissement.”

“But the two rooms?”

Even if her first idea hadn’t panned out, she didn’t want to tell him like this. She had plans at least about how she was going to tell him about that, though it killed her to keep with the lie.

“Like I said before. Studio. Place to work on projects.”

“You’ll probably just fall asleep on the floor in the studio, and it’ll be up to one particularly handsome and chivalrous cat to carry you back to your room.”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Chat.”

“Seriously, Marinette, you only need one bedroom. You’d be able to afford a better apartment and still be in this arrondissement if you dropped the second room.”

“Well, I’m not looking at any one bedrooms today, Chaton, so you’ll have to just deal with the fact I am looking for a two bedroom.”

He held up his paws in defeat.

“Whatever the lady wants,” he appeased.

Her heart stopped a moment at his word choice, and it took a second for her brain to kick back in.

“It is what _the_ _lady_ wants. Now, do you just want to drop in like before at the others to make it look like you were just passing by and curious?”

* * *

Cover story in order, they split up for Marinette to take the metro and Chat Noir to cover the city by rooftops, taking care to avoid being noticed. He only dropped down as soon as she would enter a building, greet her with another ‘bonjour, mademoiselle’, and would dart into a nearby alley as soon as the meeting was done. It was one in the afternoon by the time they left the third building, and her stomach was growling enough to interrupt Chat’s entertaining after apartment reviews.

“Hungry?”

“It’s okay. I brought an apple in my purse.”

“Now, that won’t do after all the walking around you've done.”

One hand was behind his back reaching for his baton and the other was around her waist before she could protest. Instinctively, she threw her arms around his neck and held on tight as they soared up to the roofs. While it wasn’t the first time she’d been on a roof with Chat while not transformed, it was only the second or third she could recall during daylight hours, and of those, this was the first when the reason wasn’t an akuma. He usually only took her out during the night just to be safe. He set her back on her feet.

“Now, sit tight. I’ll go get us something to eat,” he gave her gave her a wink before running off.

“Chat!” she yelled, knowing it was no use.

Once he had an idea in his head, he wouldn’t let it go. She often refused to let him pay for things for her, and this had been one of his tricks to keep her from doing anything about it. Huffing, she sat down on the edge and pouted until his return.

He did return and his apology came with sandwiches and Nutella crepes so she obviously forgave him. It was odd sitting on a strange rooftop in broad daylight and not in suit, not a care in the world, only the sandwich in her hands and her partner beside her. It was simple, and she wished more days could be spent like this.

Food finished, Chat took her back to the alley below and left to ‘accidentally’ meet with her at the next apartment. While this one certainly had more room than the last, the surrounding buildings were even more tightly packed, and there were even more eyes that might see her window. The last was also a bust. Afternoon was starting to turn toward night, so Marinette, tired as she was by her fruitless search, took Chat up on his offer to carry her home. He dropped her off at the door so she could put in an appearance with her parents while he let himself in via the roof. She greeted both her parents, nodded along as they updated her on what had happened in the bakery that day so she would be prepared for her shift tomorrow, and let them know Chat would probably be by soon. After reminding her to make sure he stayed for dinner, Marinette was finally able to escape to her room.

She didn’t even glance at the cat sitting on her floor as she gently set down her purse. Marinette then walked straight to her chaise, flopped down face first, and screamed the frustrations of her day into her pillow. Not a single double unit in her price range had discreet enough windows, let alone a balcony, to exit from. She couldn’t give up the second room. She _needed_ that second room despite how Chat tried repeatedly to talk her out of it. If he knew why, maybe he wouldn’t have kept dropping hints about just looking for a single instead, but then again, he wasn’t supposed to have found out about the apartment at all. Worse, she couldn’t even have a proper breakdown with Tikki because the cat in question was sitting on the floor some five feet to the side of her. The most she would get away with was some screaming at her pillow.

At least Chat knew enough to let her have that and not bother her until she was finished. She sighed and rolled over, taking the pillow with her to keep it firmly over her face. She couldn’t look at him right now. It wasn’t his fault for trying to help. She knew that. But how in Kwami’s name did he find out?

“Are you ready to come out yet?” he asked her softly.

She grumbled.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”

She could hear Chat alternating between scribbling on paper and clicking his claws against his baton as she continued to pout. The tiny noises were getting to her and eventually enough to encourage her to emerge from her pillow to see what he was doing.

“Ah, she survives,” Chat teased as he continued his work.

“Barely,” she countered.

She slipped off the chaise and crawled on the floor toward his work space.

“What are you working on, kitty?”

“Even if today was a bust, I’m still your agent, and I’m trying to find you an apartment. Now, I know you need the lighting, but I don’t think you should pick an arrondissement so far from home just for some windows.”

“Chat.”

“I know you said you really wanted a two bedroom, but a lofted style might fit your budget better, given what I could estimate from what the prices the managers mentioned were, and you have a loft here, so it wouldn’t be something you’re completely unfamiliar with.”

“Chat.”

“I know Alya is moving in with Nino, so really there is no reason for you to have a second room for a roommate, let alone for a studio when you could use the whole bottom floor for a studio like you do here, and lofts are more likely in the upper stories of businesses where you would get the better lighting.”

“Chat,” Marinette said forcefully as she took his face in her hands. “Two bedrooms or not at all.”

“Look, I know that’s what you think you want, and if you’d told me about this I could have had more time to ask around and see if there was anything available, but this is what I can get right now, and you might have to sacrifice something for living in a better part of the city--”

She finally threw her hands up.

“The other room is for you!”

She was empty, her hopes having been dashed by the reality of her budget and what she could afford, and honestly, she was too tired to keep fighting him on this right now. Too tired to keep the secret.

“What?”

“It was going to be a surprise. That’s why I didn’t tell you about it. You spend so much time here, that it would be unfair to go somewhere you couldn’t stay too. I know things at your house aren’t the best, so I wanted to have a home for you to go to whenever you needed one.”

“So the windows in both rooms…?”

“Were so you could have a way in and out if you needed to transform,” she told him, though that was for her too, he didn’t need to know that.

“And the second room…?”

“Would be yours. I’d say it was a studio slash guest room if anyone asked, but it would be yours.”

“And you were going to pay for this all on your own?”

“Yes, Chaton. You are family. I wasn’t going to forget about you as soon as I moved out.”

“You wanted to give me a home?”

“Yes, silly kitty. Anywhere I go, you’re coming with me.”

She took in the look on his face, something she’d never seen before and didn’t know what to expect, so her doubt crept in along the corners.

“Right?” she added to make it seem more like an offer, more like he had a choice.

Suddenly she was back pedaling hard. She hadn’t given a second thought about him having a room at her place, but what if he didn’t want a room at her place? What if he didn’t want to see her at all again after assuming he’d just follow her wherever? She should have asked beforehand so he could give her a proper 'no' and she could live alone with her hamster though she probably couldn’t even afford a place that would let her have a pet like a hamster. So just alone.

“If you don’t want to, Chat, I understand, I shouldn’t have just assumed you’d want--”

She was cut off as he tackled her to the ground.

“Of course I want, Princess,” he replied, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

Something tight in her chest loosened as her arms settled into place around the boy on top of her. He’d called her 'mademoiselle' all day, like they were strangers, and hearing his nickname for her soothed all her worries and filled that emptiness that had been growing in her all day. She buried her face into his shoulder when she realized he was shaking. Something wet slid past the shell of her ear to trail into her hair. She held him tighter as she calmed him as she had after a few particularly rough fights.

“Shhhh, it’s okay, Chat. I’m right here. I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re okay. Everything is going to be okay,” she repeated old words softly until his shaking died down enough he could speak.

He pulled back enough to look at her though they remained a tangle of limbs on the floor.

“Chat?” she nudged gently as took his hands in her own.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For ruining your surprise.”

“You don’t have to--”

“I was so mad when I found out you were going apartment hunting and didn’t even tell me, but I kind of understood it being something you wanted to do on your own, and I was still sort of hurting knowing that you would tell Alya and not me, but it was sort of fun to go through all of that with you, and maybe if I hadn’t been so upset that you didn’t want to confide in me, maybe it would have been a lot more fun, and what I am trying to say is, thank you.”

Tears spilled over once more, and Marinette pulled him in tight.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he whispered.

“It’s okay, Chat.”

“No, you have to understand. I lost out on having a warm home, but you gave it to me here, and when I thought you were leaving it felt like the rug was pulled out from under me, that the other shoe finally dropped, but I should have trusted in you. I know you better than that. You wouldn’t just leave me.”

“Chat, I am never going to leave you. I promise. I am so sorry. I know that you have old doubts about people leaving, but I am never gonna be one of those people. I am never going to abandon you.”

“You wanted to take me with you.”

“Chat, I promised you when we first started hanging out that our friendship would be forever.”

“I think you mean _furever_ , Princess.”

“I’ll let you have that one because I know you’re still upset. But are you sure it’s okay I want you to have a room at my place? I don’t want to replace whatever other home you have.”

“You are my home.”

She blinked and all at once realization slapped her in the face. She knew now why she couldn’t imagine having an apartment without space for Chat, why she got so angry when he kept suggesting she didn't need that second room. Her mouth hung open.

“Huh.”

“What?”

“You’re my home, too, Chat.”

They smiled at one another, their foreheads coming to rest against one another, slowly breathing in, letting the soft repetition settle their frayed emotions.

“Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!” Sabine called up.

And suddenly they were sitting up and laughing again at how stupid they were.

“Are we okay, Chat?” Marinette asked.

“I don’t know. Are you going to let me pay my half of the rent?”

She shoved him lightly.

“You can’t even put your name on the lease. There’re no way I’d make you pay.”

He folded his arms across his chest.

“It’s not letting me if I want to pay it. Especially if I am going to live there too.”

“What?”

He purposefully looked away and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I mean, I’m almost 18 as well, so I already thought about moving out.”

Her mouth fumbled.

“...but...but you can’t put ‘Chat Noir’ on a lease.”

He turned to look at her.

“But I can put my other name on there.”

His eyes were intense, trying to convince her of how simple it was even as Tikki’s warnings echoed in her mind. She’d gone in circles over their identities time and time again. She knew she would never tell a soul who Chat Noir was, but then, she would know and he would not, because of the two of them, him being compromised wouldn’t end things, but if she fell, Paris would be lost. But then how much of a stretch would it be to realize that Chat Noir’s roommate looked an awful lot like Ladybug? Wouldn’t it be easier to just remove the masks between them. Slowly she lifted her hands and placed them on either of his temples, thumbs tracing the bottom edge of his mask, his hands settling in over hers.

“Just say the word, Mari.”

“But what would Ladybug say?”

“That you are the most trustworthy civilian in all of Paris.”

His confidence in her left her baffled.

“You trust me that much? To disobey Ladybug?”

“Ladybug is my friend and my team mate. You are my home, Marinette. That means more to me than anything else in this world.”

Marinette meant more to him than Ladybug?

As if he'd flipped a switch in her, every ounce of her wanted to tear down the final wall. She wanted to know, to give him a home where he could be at ease, to be safe from whatever his family was like, to be completely and utterly himself. But she also wanted to protect him. The two halves of her heart raged against one another, and her hands slipped from his face as she fell into his chest.

“Chat, I don’t want to hurt you. I’ve never become akumatized. If I do, after I know who you are, you’ll be in danger. But…”

“But?”

He pulled her in closer and held her hand in his as she tried to get her breathing under control. She stared at their joined hands.

“But I want to know what your hand feels like.”

He lifted an eyebrow at that.

“I want to be able to call you by whatever name you want me to call you. I want you to be able to officially live with me if you want to leave wherever it is you live now. I want you to have a home where you can hang your mask up and just be you. But I...I’m just scared of losing you.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t give for my furever home, Marinette. I would risk my identity if it meant I could stay with you. Even if I never tell you, you are still important to me. It was a risk you were willing to take to let me keep coming here. I know you’re scared, but even if I don’t tell you who I am, I am still going to visit you. It’s always been a risk, even now. But a home with you is worth that risk to me.”

Marinette looked over his shoulder at Tikki as she floated just out of view. She really wanted her kwami’s council or at least her approval for this. Tikki had always cautioned her to be careful, but even the little god agreed with Marinette after the years of learning what his home life was like, he too deserved a place to rest. She stared at Tikki until Tikki nodded, having always known this day would come.

Marinette pulled back to look at Chat.

“Do you think you’ll wear a bell even when the mask comes off?”

“The ears and tail too if it’ll make you feel better.”

She lightly slapped his chest as her mother called them once more for dinner.

“Come on, Chaton. We can leave the mask on for one more meal.”

“Whatever is best for you, Princess.”

She squeezed his hand in reassurance, before pulling him to his feet.

“You coming with me?”

“Where you go, I go.”

She smiled at him and lead him out.

* * *

No one batted an eye when four months later Marinette told them that Adrien had found her an apartment meeting all her needs above a fabric store that worked with his father’s company. When Adrien moved in with her a month after that, everyone agreed it was about time.

  

**Author's Note:**

> it was so hard for me to keep these dorks from turning this into another reveal fic, but i felt like i needed to try it at least once. shh. i know it's implied. i'm pretending implied reveal doesn't count.


End file.
